The round-ification of software and the internet continues as Google brings its Material You design language to its famed Chrome browser soon.
Google Chrome VP Parisa Tabriz shared hints of the design overhaul via the Chrome blog as the company celebrates the browser’s 15th birthday this month.
While the update isn’t a ground up redesign, the Chrome browser will receive an easier theme selection menu that will rest at the bottom of the window in clear view labeled Customized Chrome.
Similar to how Material You works on smartphones and tablets, the Customize Chrome options will allow users to select a series of color pallets to adorn their browser with as well as preview window in a slide out pane for testing out colored-theme pallets.
Google also claims Chrome will have better integration with operating systems to preferences run across OS and browser to help adapt to things like dark and light modes.
Chrome will also offer more comprehensive menu’s for quicker access to items such as extensions, translator, password manager, and wallet to name a few.
The Chrome Web Store will also receive some Material You love in the form of more rounded corners on web elements as well as unraveling menu options from the hamburger menu and placing them in plain view in the window.
Similar to Edge, Chrome will recieve a fly out edge panel when “Search this Page with Google,” is selected for Google searches that require a bit more context and or citing.
Google has already begun adding generative artificially intelligent components to its search and those addition will be reflected in the browser now as an Explore on Page option that will Q&A sections similar to a built in Quora or forums answers with links to additional info in a side pane within the browser.
Lastly, Google Safe Browsing will get a boost of real-time security checks of sites rather than the 30-to-60-minute window sites that were cached and checked compared to locally stored lists.
In addition to the visual upgrades, Chrome will also get the standard glow up of performance, machine learning and password protections to help improve the browser by at least 25%.
There is no official timeline or roadmap for these featured updates but Tabriz mentions that the additions should start arriving, “in the coming weeks.”
